What to Expect
Osteopathy is a method of diagnosing, treating and preventing a wide range of health problems for all age groups from babies to the elderly and during pregnancy.
Your Consultation
On your first appointment, I will take a medical history and and ask about your lifestyle as well as any other symptoms you may be experiencing. This is very important as it will help me to make an accurate, holistic diagnosis.
Your records will be treated as confidential in accordance with standards of practice set out by the General Osteopathic Council and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If you wish, you may request a copy of your notes, but you may be charged an administration fee for this.
I will assess your body as a whole as well as the area(s) of your body causing discomfort. Sometimes the cause of the problem will be in a different area to the pain/restriction. I will explain what I am doing as I go along.
If you are uncomfortable with any part of this, you have the right to ask to stop at any stage, without affecting your future treatment.
Your first treatment will normally take around 45 minutes. Any follow up treatments normally take between 30 and 45 minutes.
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Prices
£55 for adults
£45 for children
What to Wear
You will need to have appropriate underwear for the initial examination as you will need to briefly undress so that I can check for signs of trauma, surgery or pathological changes for diagnostic purposes.
Once this has been checked, you can choose to redress in loose/light clothing. I will then complete your assessment and palpate you holistically rather than simply focusing on the area of complaint.
If you feel uncomfortable undressing to your underwear, you should be able to wear clothing after the initial examination such as shorts and a t-shirt, loose garments or thin, close-fitting garments that will allow effective treatment, so please discuss this if it is a concern to you.
You are welcome to ask a chaperone to be present throughout your appointment.
Conditions treated
by Osteopaths
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Arthritic pain
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Circulatory problems
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Cramp
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Digestion problems
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Fibromyalgia
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Frozen shoulder/ shoulder and elbow pain/ tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) arising from associated musculoskeletal conditions of the back and neck, but not isolated occurrences
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Headache arising from the neck (cervicogenic)
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Joint pains including hip and knee pain from osteoarthritis as an adjunct to core OA treatments and exercise
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General, acute & chronic backache, back pain (not arising from injury or accident)
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Generalised aches and pains
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Lumbago
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Migraine prevention
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Minor sports injuries
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Muscle spasms
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Neuralgia
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Tension and inability to relax
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Rheumatic pain
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Sciatica
Uncomplicated mechanical neck pain (as opposed to neck pain following injury i.e. whiplash)
Your Treatment
I will explain your diagnosis and discuss my expectations for your course of treatment with you. This may involve exercises, postural and lifestyle advice for short and long term improvement. We will discuss the likely number of treatments that you will need and ask for your consent.
Most treatments begin on your first appointment, but sometimes we may require blood tests or scans. If we suspect or diagnose an illness that we are unable to treat, we may refer you to your GP or another appropriate health professional.
If you are under the age of 18, you will need to have a parent or guardian with you throughout the treatment.
Is Treatment Painful?
Osteopathic treatment is usually a very gentle process and we work very hard to make treatment as painless as possible, but you may experience some discomfort during and after treatment. If you are uncomfortable with a style of treatment, there are various different techniques that I can utilise.
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After treatment you may experience some pain, mostly in the areas of the body that were treated. This will normally start to ease within 72 hours. If you experience serious or unusual symptoms after treatment you should make contact straight away for advice.
Training & Regulation
In the UK, the osteopathic profession is regulated by the General Osteopathic Council (www.osteopathy.org.uk) and osteopaths are trained to degree level, taking a minimum of four years, including over 1000 hours of contact time with patients at undergraduate level.
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Osteopaths are recognised by the NHS as allied health professionals.